Thunder rip Kings by 13

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 11:01 AM

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 29 points in 29 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder led by as many as 32 in a wire-to-wire 94-81 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Durant scored at least 26 points for the 37th straight game and the Thunder bounced back from Tuesday’s overtime loss to Dallas to win for the fifth time in six games. They have beaten the Kings nine straight times overall, 11 in a row at home and in 18 of the last 20 meetings. Russell Westbrook added 18 points in 24 minutes and Jeremy Lamb scored 13 off the bench for Oklahoma City. Ben McLemore scored 18 to lead the Kings, who have lost eight of their last 11. They haven’t beaten the Thunder franchise on the road since topping the SuperSonics in Seattle on March 30, 2008.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 29 points in 29 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder led by as many as 32 in a wire-to-wire 94-81 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Durant scored at least 26 points for the 37th straight game and the Thunder bounced back from Tuesday’s overtime loss to Dallas to win for the fifth time in six games. They have beaten the Kings nine straight times overall, 11 in a row at home and in 18 of the last 20 meetings. Russell Westbrook added 18 points in 24 minutes and Jeremy Lamb scored 13 off the bench for Oklahoma City. Ben McLemore scored 18 to lead the Kings, who have lost eight of their last 11. They haven’t beaten the Thunder franchise on the road since topping the SuperSonics in Seattle on March 30, 2008.

S. Antonio 133, Denver 102

DENVER — The San Antonio Spurs continue to roll and are on the cusp of team history. Marco Belinelli scored 27 points and the Spurs won their 16th straight game by pounding the Denver Nuggets, 133-102, to complete a home-and-home sweep. San Antonio is one victory shy of a team record. The Spurs won 17 straight Feb. 29 - Mar. 31, 1996.

Portland 91, Chicago 74

CHICAGO — Mo Williams netted 18 points off the bench to lead six Trail Blazers in double figures in Portland’s 91-74 takedown of the Chicago Bulls at United Center. Damian Lillard added 16 points while Robin Lopez and Nicolas Batum scored 13 apiece to help Portland win its second straight to complete a five-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 2-3 mark.

Minnesota 143, Lakers 107

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love posted his second career triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 143-107 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Nikola Pekovic added 26 points in his return to the lineup and Kevin Martin finished with 17 for the Timberwolves.

New Orleans 102, Utah 95

NEW ORLEANS — Tyreke Evans supplied 22 points and a career-high 15 assists, as the New Orleans Pelicans picked up a 102-95 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday at Smoothie King Center. Anthony Morrow registered 20 points, while Al-Farouq Aminu added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Pelicans, who have won five straight. Gordon Hayward had 21 points, while Derrick Favors scored 18 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Jazz, who have lost three straight.

and nine of their last 10 games.

Phoenix 112, New York 88

PHOENIX — Goran Dragic dropped 32 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 112-88 rout of the New York Knicks on Friday. Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris each scored 16 points, with Bledsoe adding seven rebounds and six assists in Phoenix’s sixth straight win. P.J. Tucker netted 11 points and Miles Plumlee also added 11 with 12 rebounds for Phoenix. The Suns moved up to seventh place in the Western Conference with Memphis’ loss to Golden State. Phoenix now leads the Grizzlies by one half game for the eighth position and are ahead of ninth- place Dallas by one game. Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 21 points and Amar’e Stoudemire contributed 19 in the setback, New York’s third loss in its last four games. The Knicks, meanwhile, fell two games back of Atlanta for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.

Golden State 100, Memphis 93

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 33 points to help the Golden State Warriors rally past the Memphis Grizzlies, 100-93, on Friday. The Warriors trailed 93-86 with 4:00 remaining, but closed the game on a 14-0 run. With 1:21 to go, Curry shook Grizzlies guard Mike Conley with a crossover before nailing a stepback 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 96-93 lead. After Conley missed a 3 on the other end, Curry knocked down a scooping layup from high off the glass to make it a five-point game. Klay Thompson sealed the win with a pair of free throws with five seconds remaining. Thompson finished with 14 points and Marreese Speights scored 15 for the Warriors, winners in four of their last five games. Golden State (45-27) currently sits in sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Zach Randolph scored 21 points and Conley finished with 20 for the Grizzlies, who had a three-game winning-streak snapped. Memphis fell into eighth place in the West and lead Dallas by just one half game for the final playoff spot.

Orlando 110, Charlotte 105 (OT)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Arron Afflalo drilled a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and Jameer Nelson netted five points in overtime, as the Orlando Magic came from behind to beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 110-105, on Friday at Amway Center. Orlando trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and didn’t take its first lead until Nikola Vucevic knocked down back- to-back buckets for a 91-89 edge with 4:46 remaining. The Magic’s lead was one, 94-93, with 1:12 left before Josh McRoberts and Kemba Walker each found the bottom of the net around a Vucevic miss to give Charlotte a 97-94 lead with 14.6 ticks to play in regulation. However, Afflalo answered with a triple from the top of the key and Walker missed a right elbow jumper as the final horn sounded to force overtime. In overtime, Walker hit a hook shot with 2:41 left for a 101-99 lead, but Nelson drilled a trey at the other end to give Orlando the lead for good, as the Magic held the Bobcats to just one field goal the rest of the way. Vucevic posted 24 points and 23 rebounds, while Afflalo finished with 17 points for the Magic, who have won two straight on the heels of a nine-game slide. Walker and McRoberts each scored 24 points to pace the Bobcats, who have lost four of their last six games. Despite the recent rough patch, Charlotte still occupies the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings, three games ahead of eighth-place Atlanta.

Toronto 105, Boston 103

TORONTO — Amir Johnson’s putback layup with 7.1 seconds left proved to be the difference, as the Toronto Raptors held off the Boston Celtics 105-103 to clinch a postseason berth for the first time in six years. DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and Terrence Ross donated 17 as the Raptors completed a home-and-home sweep of Boston. Greivis Vasquez and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Johnson poured in eight with eight rebounds. Toronto is returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when it was bounced in the first round in five games by Orlando. Jerryd Bayless poured in 20 points off the bench for the Celtics, losers in eight of nine, and Jeff Green scored 16 points.

Washington 91, Indiana 78

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Washington Wizards caught the Indiana Pacers coming off an emotional win and took it to them for 48 minutes. The road has not been kind of late to the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers. John Wall scored 20 points, Marcin Gortat had 17 points and 12 rebounds and the Wizards led wire-to-wire in a 91-78 victory over the Pacers on Friday night at Verizon Center. Al Harrington added 12 points and Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster scored 11 each for the Wizards. The conference’s current No. 6 seed stopped a two-game losing streak with their second win in six games. Paul George had 19 points but the Pacers shot just 35.4 percent two days after clinching the Central Division for the second year in a row with an 84-83 win over the Miami Heat. They have lost three of four overall and four in a row on the road.

Brooklyn 108, Cleveland 97

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 22 points in the first quarter to lead the Brooklyn Nets to their 12th consecutive home win with a 108-97 decision over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Joe Johnson scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Alan Anderson and Deron Williams added 13 points apiece for Brooklyn, which snapped a two-game slide and moved within one game of the club record for consecutive home wins, set on two occasions in the 2002 season when the franchise was located in New Jersey and played at Prudential Center. Luol Deng and Dion Waiters each netted 20 points to lead the Cavs, who had their winning streak stopped at three games. Spencer Hawes contributed 16 points and Tristan Thompson added 14 in the setback.

Miami 110, Detroit 78

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — LeBron James logged his first triple- double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to power the shorthanded Miami Heat to a 110-78 rout of the Detroit Pistons. Udonis Haslem also scored 17 and Chris Bosh contributed 15 points and nine boards for Miami, which was missing Dwyane Wade (hamstring), Mario Chalmers (bruised quad), Greg Oden (back spasms) and Ray Allen (flu). The Southeast Division champions made 54.4 percent of their shots, including 8-of-19 from 3-point range to bounce back from an 84-83 loss at Indiana Wednesday. Greg Monroe and Will Bynum each had 12 points for the Pistons, who shot 38 percent from the field, including 3-of-24 from beyond the arc. Detroit, which lost for the seventh time in eight contests, also received 11 points from Kyle Singler.

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